HISD will get $150,000 after losing out on education prize

Updated 10:49 pm, Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Photo: Brett Coomer

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Houston Independent School District employees react to losing out to Miami-Dade for the Broad Prize during a watch party at the HISD headquarters Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012, in Houston. HISD was one of four finalists for the prestigious award given to an urban school district. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle ) less

Houston Independent School District employees react to losing out to Miami-Dade for the Broad Prize during a watch party at the HISD headquarters Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012, in Houston. HISD was one of four ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer

HISD will get $150,000 after losing out on education prize

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The Houston Independent School District learned Tuesday that it did not win a coveted national education award this year.

However, as a finalist for the Broad Prize for Urban Education, the district will receive $150,000 in college scholarships for its graduating seniors.

The Miami-Dade school system in Florida, a five-time nominee, won the prize, which brings national prestige and $550,000 in scholarships.

The award for charter schools, announced earlier this year, went to Houston-based YES Prep.

HISD won the inaugural Broad Prize in 2002, and Aldine ISD won in 2009. The award honors districts that made significant gains in student achievement, particularly among minorities.

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HISD Superintendent Terry Grier, who attended the award ceremony in New York, congratulated Miami-Dade and the other finalists, Palm Beach schools in Florida and Corona-Norco Unified in Southern California. "Awards are always nice, but they are not our focus," Grier said. "Providing HISD students with a consistently safe, rigorous education is our goal."

The prize is based on data from 2008 through 2011, covering the tenures of Grier and his predecessor, Abelardo Saavedra.

HISD students who graduate this school year can to compete for the scholarships. They must have a grade-point average of 2.75 their senior year and a record of improved grades, and they must show financial need.